Libreture
According to Amazon, they will be removing the Download & Transfer via USB option from readers' Kindle Content Libraries on the 26th of February, disabling readers' ability to directly download purchased ebooks from their Amazon accounts.
According to some Kindle owners, the change seems to be effective immediately!
Readers won’t be able to:
- copy Kindle ebooks to Kindle e-readers using an USB cable,
- store ebooks separately from their Kindle device or app,
- back up their ebooks, or
- read them anywhere other than Amazon’s own Kindle environment.
When readers select the Download & Transfer via USB option from their account, Amazon currently displays the following notice:
Starting February 26, 2025, the "Download & Transfer via USB" option will no longer be available. You can still send Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the "Deliver or Remove from Device" option. Learn more about managing downloads
Will it affect you?
If you only ever read your Amazon ebooks on a Kindle e-reader or app and are not concerned with backing up your ebooks or reading them anywhere else, this change likely won’t impact you.
You’ll continue to sync your Kindle over wi-fi, the ebooks you’ve bought will appear, and you’ll be able to read them as usual. But owners of early Kindle e-readers, such as the Kindle Keyboard, may not even have this option.
Since the shutdown of 3G networks a few years ago, owners of Kindle 3Gs (without wi-fi) have had to manually move ebook files to their device using an USB cable. This won’t be an option after the 26th. Owners of non-wi-fi Kindles will have no supported way to download ebooks they’ve bought and paid for.
If you buy ebooks from Amazon to read on a non-Kindle devices (or even to backup!), you’ll have two options. Either install the outdated Kindle app on a computer (if you have access to one) and attempt to download your ebooks that way, or buy a Kindle device to read your ebooks.
Amazon's respondse to a Verge article on this topic was unhelpful at best, stating that:
“Customers can continue reading books previously downloaded on their Kindle device, and access new content through the Kindle app, Kindle for web, as well as directly through Kindle devices with WiFi capability,”
Reading between the lines, this confirms that Amazon customers can no longer read their Kindle ebooks on a different device or app.
As a commenter on a Verge article covering this noted:
“I don't want to be forced to continually buy new Kindles for the rest of my life just because I made the mistake years ago of buying content locked into their proprietary format.”
What you can do
Ebook files downloaded through the Amazon website are available in the older AZW3 format - which has its benefits.
Download your ebooks now!
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Log in to your Amazon account
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Navigate to your Content Library
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Select the More actions menu next to each book you’ve bought
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Choose Download & transfer via USB – if it’s still available to you
There are various tools available online to automate this process. Search for one that suits you.
Convert them to a common ebook format
You won’t be able to convert your ebooks if the files are locked with DRM. It’s much easier to remove DRM (what’s DRM?) from AZW3 files than newer Kindle ebook formats. This means you can convert them to other ebook formats, such as epub.
DRM or Digital Rights Management is a technology used by many large publishers and bookshops like Amazon and Kobo to limit how you can read the ebooks you’ve bought. DRM effectively locks ebooks to only work on specific devices, brands of devices, through specific software, and usually only for the individual or account that purchased them. Many publishers and authors choose to apply DRM to their ebooks on Amazon.
To remove DRM, search online for a solution that suits your circumstances, such as downloading specific software or using an online service.
Then convert your ebook files to epub format using online software like Convertio or downloadable software like Calibre.
Keep your ebooks safe
If you’re a fan of cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive, back up your converted ebooks to keep them safe.
Or upload your ebooks to your personal Libreture library to see them in all their glory – with covers and all – and track your reading.
With Libreture you get 500MB of storage space free forever (good for hundreds of ebooks), and can easily upgrade if you need more room.
Need more room? Here’s a special coupon for everyone with more than 500MB of ebooks from Amazon and looking for a home for them.
Get 50% OFF a WHOLE YEAR of Extra ebook space with Libreture!
Use promotion code:
DOWNLOADYOUREBOOKS
when upgrading to get 50% off for 12 months.
Do we really own our ebooks?
Whether or not we actually own ebooks that are locked with DRM is a question raised by author and editor Kristin McTiernan when she published a video describing her experience of switching from a Kindle to a Kobo ereader.
Kristin found that she couldn’t simply move her ebook files from one device to another. She couldn’t download her books from the Amazon account she bought them through. And when she did eventually manage to access the book files themselves, that was only the beginning of the journey to getting them on her lovely new Kobo.
“Why have we all gotten so accustomed to companies telling us whether or not we can access things that we have bought?”
The best solution (with hindsight of course) is to buy from bookshops that don’t use DRM, and allow you to download your ebooks.
Remember! Buying from any ebookshop that only allows you to read your purchased ebooks through an app is not a great idea. It’s sometimes difficult to tell, so watch out for that before handing over your money!
Where can I buy DRM-free ebooks I can actually own?
There are hundreds of bookshops out there that don’t use DRM, and who believe you should get to actually own the ebooks you’ve bought.
Here’s my growing list of almost 500 ebookshops that sell ebooks, digital comics, magazines and RPGs in DRM-free formats. I’ve checked each and every one!
You can discover Libreture's collection of DRM-free bookshops with the guidance of Ofori’s DRM-free Bookshop of the Month video series. Ofori shares book reviews, ebook tips, guides, and news on his YouTube channel, The Digital Reader.
If Amazon disabling downloads does anything, I hope it helps readers discover the wider world of ebooks beyond Amazon. That they learn about other ebookshops, publishers and authors, and how to ensure they get to actually own, keep, and read their ebooks however they like for years to come.